Shariatmadari, leader of the 14 million Turkish-speaking Iranians in East Azarbaijan province, was an ayatollah, the highest title for Shiite Moslem clergymen. But he was stripped of his title after being accused of complicity in what the Iranian government described as a 1982 coup attempt against Khomeini's fundamentalist Islamic regime, the news agency said.

Former Foreign Minister Sadegh Ghotbzadeh was charged with leading the alleged coup attempt, which the Iranian government said involved a plan to bomb Khomeini's house. Ghotbzadeh was convicted by an Islamic revolutionary court and executed by firing squad on Sept. 15, 1982.

The government confined Shariatmadari to his house, which was placed under armed guard.